July 14, 2013

In Matters of Faith There's No Riding the Fence - July 14, 2013

Apparently
our server is down again this seek, so all I have is the printed version of
this sermon. Sorry for the inconvenience. Email calebjohn.schaller@gmail.com if
you really want the mp3 and I'll send it to you. -Pastor Caleb Schaller

Today's sermon is preached by Pastor Caleb Schaller, but was originally written by Pastor Paul G. Naumann and provided through the
CLC’s “Ministry by Mail”. For more, go to www.lutheransermons.org

SERMON:

Acts 5:35-42 (NKJV)

35 And [Gamaliel] said to them: “Men of Israel,
take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. 36
For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men,
about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were
scattered and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas of Galilee
rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also
perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. 38 And now I say to
you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work
is of men, it will come to nothing; 39 but if it is of God, you
cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

40 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for
the apostles and beaten them, they
commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41
So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And daily in the
temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

In the name of Jesus Christ, who was bold and
courageous on our behalf, dear fellow-redeemed:

I was preparing my address for today and was trying to
remember whether I’d ever heard the expression “riding the fence,” used in a
complementary way. I don't think I ever have. To ride the fence means that a
person is in the middle, he is undecided, he may go either way on a particular
issue. Certainly, there is a proper time for prudence and caution, but in most
areas, “riding the fence” is a very pejorative term. It is something bad, and
the person who does it is seen as weak, vacillating, having no abiding values,
being subject to every wind of change. It is certainly not an asset when it
comes to political campaigns, as presidential candidates have discovered
already. A candidate will go to almost any length to avoid being seen as one
who rides the fence.

I think most people, as individuals, would like to think
of themselves as confident and decisive. None of us would like to be
characterized as a fence-rider. But there is one area in our life where riding
the fence could be more than just a character flaw. It could be eternally
fatal, and that is in the area of our spirituality and our faith. Today we will
consider one of the premier fence-riders of all time, a man named Gamaliel.
From his bad example of timidity and indecision, the Holy Spirit would direct
us rather to a life of faith, one which engages in decisive action for Christ.
Join me in considering the theme: IN
MATTERS OF FAITH THERE'S NO RIDING THE FENCE. I. Faithless skeptics
never cease to preach caution, and II. Faithful disciples
never cease to preach Christ.

I.

Gamaliel is an interesting character. He was a grandson
of the great Jewish scholar Hillel. He was the teacher of Saul, by the way,
before he became the Apostle Paul. He was one of the greatest scholars and most
respected rabbis among the leaders of the Jews. He was one of the sect of the
Pharisees, which meant that he put great emphasis on the strict outward keeping
of Jewish ceremonial Law. When it came to this novel teaching going around
about the prophet Jesus from Nazareth, Gamaliel was strongly skeptical, to say
the least, and above all, he was a cautious man.

But that's only natural, for faithless skeptics never
ceased to preach caution, and that is what Gamaliel did. In this case, several
of the disciples had been arrested after preaching in the name of Christ and
healing many sick people in the Lord’s name. The Sadducees, who often fought bitterly
with the Pharisees, would likely have put the disciples to death, but Gamaliel
intervened. He preached caution. He said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed
to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men.” [v.35]

Then he brought two examples from the recent history of
Israel to show that his wait-and-see approach to the apostles was the correct
one. Both men of whom he spoke, Theudas and Judas of Galilee, were leaders of
fringe religious movements. Both men were quickly captured and killed, and
their followers were scattered. Their movements died away, leaving no trace
behind. These followers of this Jesus of Nazareth, Gamaliel speculated, might
very well end up the same way. His advice was to wait and see. “Men of
Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men...and
they agreed with him.” [vv. 35, 40]

The advice of Gamaliel was accepted by the Sanhedrin. He
convinced them. Did he convince you? I have to admit that the first time I read
this text, Gamaliel's advice sounded pretty logical to me. “If this plan or
this work is of men, it will come to nothing” [v.39]—It seems to make
sense. If a work or institution is of human origin, it will fail all by itself.
You don’t have to help it along. Conversely, if a work or institution is from
God, then clearly there' is nothing you can do to combat it, struggle as you
may. It seems very sensible advice. Indeed, it seems a model of tolerance and
prudence. In fact, tolerance was the subject of a sermon on this very text,
which I happened to run across on the internet. The preacher, a woman, used
these words of Gamaliel to urge her hearers to be tolerant toward homosexuals
in the church. We should find out whether it was from God or from men, she
said, before passing judgment. The thought struck me that she could find out
whether it was from God, immediately, just by turning to the first chapter of
the book Romans.

Actually, Gamaliel’s advice isn’t as good as it sounds.
You don’t have to dig very deeply before the logic of his argument begins to
break down. Just because a religion or a movement has its origin in man,
doesn’t mean that it will quickly die away as did Gamaliel’s two examples.
Islam is an idolatrous religion that comes from man, not from God. But
one-third of the earth’s population are adherents of Islam. It has lasted for
centuries and appears as though it may endure for centuries more. The same
could be said of Buddhism, or Taoism, the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
They will all eventually come to nothing, as Gamaliel promised, but that may
not happen until the Day of Judgment.

Even less logical is Gamaliel’s second statement. “If
it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against
God.” [v.39] Which raises a logical absurdity: Who would want to
fight against God? How silly for a religious leader to be urging his hearers
not to fight against God! If what the disciples were doing—preaching the
Gospel, healing the sick, spreading the good news of the kingdom—if what they
were doing was of God, why wasn’t this leader of Israel urging his hearers to
fight for God, to receive the Gospel, to believe the Good News, and
be saved?! But faithless skeptics never cease to preach caution.

“Take heed to yourselves,” he told them. “Be cautious.
Take care what you do. Let’s ride the fence for a while and find out what
happens to these disciples of Jesus. When all the evidence is in, then we can
make an informed decision.” It sounded like words of wisdom when, in fact, it
was the height of folly.

In the beginning of the American Civil War, there were
many people, particularly among the border states, who were conflicted. They
had loyalties on both sides. A story is told about a man from Northern
Virginia, who staunchly refused to take sides. It is said that he showed up at
the Battle of Bull Run wearing a uniform that was half blue and half gray. It
might have seemed like an expedient measure at the time. However, he soon
realized the folly of his supposed solution, when he discovered that the
Confederate soldiers were shooting at his blue jacket while the Union Army was
shooting at his gray pants.

In matters of faith too, there is no riding the fence. In
the words of the old phrase, “he who hesitates is lost.” Gamaliel hesitated. He
preached caution. He refused to receive or believe the good news of a Savior
from sin. Yes, Gamaliel hesitated, and as far as we know, was lost.

And what about you and me? We look at our lives and we
have to admit that we have far too often been timid and hesitant when we should
have been bold for Christ. Those opportunities are so precious and you never
know when they'll come; but sadly we often fail to take advantage of them. Very
often we have a chance at the office, at the club, or at a family gathering to
speak a fit word—where the Gospel would have a chance to really do some good,
and we’re timid. We’re cautious. We mumble something noncommittal, or keep
silent altogether. We sit on the fence. We need to wake up and realize that, in
matters of faith, there’s no riding the fence. All it takes to snap us back to
reality is to be reminded of what God said to the lukewarm church at Laodicea.
Remember them? They were spiritual fence- riders, and Jesus said to them, “I
know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold
or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

To our shame, we have to admit that we have all too often
been guilty of riding the fence in things spiritual. But before you get too
discouraged, I’d like to remind you about someone who never rode the fence.
Someone who made a right decision and stuck to it—someone who always fought the
good fight and never vacillated. It is a man who, for your sake and mine,
refused to preach caution and rather preached the good news of pardon and
peace. Jesus Christ refused to ride the fence. “Who, when He was reviled,
did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed
Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own
body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by
whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:23-24). Jesus, in His mission to
bring you eternal salvation, was not paralyzed by fear and inaction. He didn’t
take a wait-and-see attitude. He dove right in. Our Lord was undaunted by
suffering and shame. “Look unto Jesus,” says the writer to the Hebrews,
“who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews
12:2).

Yes, we are weak, but Jesus is strong. Jesus, for the joy
of delivering you from eternal condemnation, went all the way to the cross.
There on that cross, He atoned for all your sins and transgressions, all your
weaknesses, all your failures, every dark misdeed of which you’ve been guilty,
and every shameful stain that lies upon your record. When God raised Jesus from
the dead at the third day, He put his seal on your forgiveness. He set his
ironclad guarantee on your eternal salvation. As the Apostle Paul says, “Jesus
was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification”
(Romans 4:25).

II.

With this being the case, we might well ask, “what can I
now do for my blessed Savior who has earned Heaven for me?” Our text doesn’t
leave us in the dark there either. For while faithless skeptics never cease to
preach caution, faithful disciples never cease to preach Christ.

“When they had called for the apostles and beaten
them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let
them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they
were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and
in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
[vv.40-42]

Poor Gamaliel. In the end, the very thing happened to him
of which he was most afraid. He was found fighting against God. He whipped and
persecuted the servants of the True God, and charged them not to preach in the
name of Christ. By the way, we glibly rattle off that phrase, “they beat
them and let them go,” perhaps without understanding what was involved. The
apostles were stripped to the waist, right there before the council, and
whipped with 39 strokes. It was very public and very shameful. It was the
fulfillment of Jesus’ previous warning to His disciples: “But beware of men:
for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in
their synagogues” (Matthew 10:17).

But how do we see the apostles react? They rejoiced.
They were actually proud to be so publicly shamed for the sake of their Lord.
When it came to the Gospel, they did not equivocate, and they did not ride the
fence. They never ceased to preach Christ. They joyfully redoubled their
efforts to spread ever wider the influence of the saving Gospel.

Likewise, we have work to do here in our home towns. We
may accomplish certain goals and milestones, but the real work—the work our
Lord put us here on this earth to do—goes on. It’s more urgent now than ever
before. Jesus’ words to His disciples are words for us as well: “But you
shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and you shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8. KJV).

For you, it might not be the ends of the earth. For you
it might be your next-door neighbor, or your co-worker, or your business
partner. But in any case, never cease to preach Christ. Like those faithful
disciples, never cease to tell others what great things God has done for you.
You needn’t be eloquent. You needn’t stand on the street corner and force your
attention on passers-by. Just be ready. Be ready to “give an answer to
anyone who asks you, a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and
fear” (1 Peter 3:15). As a friend of this congregation once encouraged us,
be ready for those divine encounters. And never cease to preach Christ!

Riding the fence is an American idiom. In Germany they
have an equally colorful idiom: zwischen zwei Stuehlen zu sitzen. It
means, literally, “to sit between two stools,” to be caught between two
positions, to be neither in one place nor the other. Clearly, it is not
somewhere we want to be. It’s a place where we Christians will not be, for we
understand that you can’t sit between two stools. In matters of faith, there
simply is no riding the fence. To the end of the age, faithless skeptics will
never cease to preach caution. God grant that we may be faithful disciples, who
never cease to preach Christ! Amen.

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Pastor Mark Tiefel

Pastor Mark S. Tiefel graduated from Immanuel Lutheran College and Seminary in Eau Claire, WI, in May of 2012. He previously served Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church. He was installed at Redemption on April 12, 2015.